11/28/2016
In this whimsical debut novel, Lally chronicles the wanderings of Vivian, a lonely woman who believes herself to be a fairy whose days are spent searching Dublin for the “thin places” that might return her home, “portals to another world.” In between these outings she visits with her friend Penelope, whom she meets after posting an advertisement for someone of that name in hopes of figuring out “why she doesn’t rhyme with antelope,” and her straightlaced sister, who, as Vivian observes, “copes better with her own words than with mine.” Words, in fact, are Vivian’s primary concern. She makes lists of eccentric names to write in her “notebook of certainties” and muses about having the letter K abolished (“a good ‘C’ or a double ‘CC’ would do nicely”). As Vivian’s inquiries about a door to Oz or Hades are met by strangers who blink in response like they have “just come out of the cinema into the sunlight,” Lally’s charmingly droll prose takes on a desperate edge. Having suffered a parade of predictable disappointments, Vivian is no closer to fitting in than she began, and her greatest fantasy is as commonplace as eliciting a laugh over drinks with friends. “They’re bent double and drink is pouring out their noses,” she imagines, “but that is just the start of my jokes, there are more.” (Feb.)
This urban fairy tale delivers something that is both subtle and profound in its examination of the human soul. Magically delicious.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS
“A whimsical jaunt through Dublin and a modern take on many old Irish folktales . . . Humorous, charming, and original.” —BOOKLIST
“Full of action and humour as its beguiling narrator takes her surreal jaunts around the capital in search of a portal to another world . . . The black comedy gives the book a jaunty quality that complements the dazzling trip around Dublin.” —Sarah Gilmartin, THE IRISH TIMES
“Delightfully quirky . . . Vivian’s voice alone is enough to keep us reading, charmed by her unique brand of manic, word-hoarding wit.” —THE IRISH INDEPENDENT
“The book’s style calls to mind The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Engaging and humorous.” —THE DUBLIN INQUIRER
"A gorgeous and highly original debut, shifting and weaving around the idea of fairy changelings... I only hope that Lally's next novel is as marvellously weird and offbeat as this one."
"Lally's novel doesn't reimagine Dublin, as some critics have asserted, but rather views it differently, reading the geographical marginalia while others, less adventurous, are content traversing the main text. I'm looking forward to Lally's next."
"I loved this book – its humour and quirkiness and pathos and the way it carried me along. It is right at the top of the pile in my favourite books this year."
★ 01/01/2017
Currently unemployed, Vivian lives in the Dublin house a deceased aunt bequeathed to her and spends her days searching the city for portals to enchanted realms. She may in fact be a changeling, and discovering a way back home is one of her priorities. She also acquires a goldfish, advertises for a friend named Penelope, visits a sister also named Vivian, and makes lists of names, words, and things she hopes will reveal patterns or spells that will help her return to the place she believes she belongs. Vivian carefully maps her journeys throughout the city, noticing the likenesses between the routes she traces and things in the world. While apparently stuck in the human realm, she offers perceptions of the city and its people who are magical, though they may be rooted in trauma she cannot fully elude. Even so, Vivian never abandons her quest. VERDICT Lally's sensational first novel is a love letter to Dublin as well as the incantatory and transformative powers of language. Indeed, Vivian's voice is the real enchantment of this warm, witty debut.—John G. Matthews, Washington State Univ. Libs., Pullman
Narrator Alana Kerr Collins has the Irish accent that this story, set in Dublin, requires. Vivian, who tells her own story, was told by her parents that she was left behind by fairies, and she’s still searching for the portal that will lead her home. In spite of sincere efforts, she’s estranged from her sister, also named Vivian; dealing with neighbors and social workers who think she’s crazy or troubled; and searching for a friend named Penelope. Collins gives Vivian a voice that sounds confident as she makes plans and puzzled as she tries to work out why the plans don’t succeed. She even manages to inject life into the many lists that Vivian recites. A unique mix of whimsy, humor, sadness, and hope make Vivian a character listeners will want to root for. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
2016-11-22
Dubliner Vivian Lawlor doesn't fit in anywhere. Will she ever find her place in this world?Debut novelist Lally creates a portrait of loneliness through the whimsical and obsessive Viv, who meticulously and painstakingly plots her daily walks through the streets of Dublin. The Irishwoman lives in the cluttered home she inherited from her deceased great-aunt, with whom she had lived since her parents' deaths. Auntie was a Grey Gardens-style hoarder with an impressive collection of oddball items. Quirkiness runs in the Lawlor family, and before their deaths, Viv's parents managed to convince this daughter (they have another, also named Vivian) that she's a changeling from another world. Viv is now a woman searching for portals to the world where she belongs and desperately seeking a friend. Her interactions with the people she crosses paths with in her daily life—shopkeepers, taxi drivers, urban pedestrians—are so, so awkward, they are at once delightfully hilarious and painfully cringeworthy. But they will never lead to friendship, and so Viv posts a sign advertising for a pal. Not just any friend. This charmingly touched heroine is on the hunt for a friend named Penelope (no Pennies need apply). Viv, who insists on the abbreviated version of her name because she loves palindromes, wants to ask this new friend why Penelope does not rhyme with antelope. When Viv meets her Penelope, she's met her match. Though not a grounding influence, Penelope's friendship forces Viv to see her world from a new perspective. Absent the dramatic character arcs or plot twists readers would expect from an American novel, this urban fairy tale delivers something that is both subtle and profound in its examination of the human soul. Magically delicious.
